Patents Assigned to Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.
  • Publication number: 20240382896
    Abstract: Residual ammonia is removed effectively from ammonia cracked gas in a hydrogen PSA system using a non-zeolitic adsorbent such as activated carbon, activated alumina or silica gel.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 18, 2021
    Publication date: November 21, 2024
    Applicant: Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.
    Inventors: Edward Landis Weist, Jr., Shubhra J. Bhadra, William J. Casteel, Jr., Timothy C. Golden, Jeffrey R. Hufton, Garret C. Lau, Simon Craig Saloway
  • Publication number: 20240384428
    Abstract: An apparatus to purify water and provide the purified water to one or more electrolyzers for manufacture of hydrogen can include a purification unit positioned to receive water from a demineralization unit to purify the water and output the purified water to at least one electrolyzer of an electrolyzer house. The flow of water can be adjusted to maintain a minimum flow of water passing through one or more beds of a polisher while accounting for the demand of water at the electrolyzers. Flow adjustments can be made between providing all the purified water to the electrolyzers during high demand operations to other configurations in which little or no purified water is fed to the electrolyzers and, instead, that water is recycled back to the water purification unit.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 18, 2023
    Publication date: November 21, 2024
    Applicant: Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.
    Inventors: GRAEME RICHARD WILSON, TIMOTHY EDWARD CONWAY, MATTHEW WILLIAM AKHURST, FIONA VICTORIA LESLIE
  • Publication number: 20240384429
    Abstract: An apparatus to provide purified water to one or more electrolyzers for manufacture of hydrogen can include a polisher positioned to receive at least a minimum flow of water from a demineralization unit to purify the water and output the purified water to at least one electrolyzer of an electrolyzer house. The flow of water can be adjusted to maintain a minimum flow of water passing through one or more beds of the polisher while accounting for the demand of water at the electrolyzers. Flow adjustments can be made between providing all the purified water to the electrolyzers during high demand operations to other configurations in which little or no purified water is fed to the electrolyzers and, instead, that water is recycled back to the water demineralization unit.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 18, 2023
    Publication date: November 21, 2024
    Applicant: Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.
    Inventors: GRAEME RICHARD WILSON, TIMOTHY EDWARD CONWAY, MATTHEW WILLIAM AKHURST, FIONA VICTORIA LESLIE
  • Publication number: 20240377060
    Abstract: A method for heating reactor using a multi-function burner comprising feeding primary fuel through an annular channel, feeding oxygen through a central channel within the annular channel, and feeding an auxiliary fuel through a central lance within the central channel to produce a flame extending into a furnace having a temperature and a pressure; wherein the flow rate of the auxiliary fuel and oxygen are increased while maintaining an equivalence ratio below 1 to increase the temperature of the furnace; wherein after the furnace temperature exceeds the auto-ignition temperature of the primary fuel, increasing the flow rate of the primary fuel to increase the equivalence ratio to be greater than 1.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 9, 2024
    Publication date: November 14, 2024
    Applicant: Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.
    Inventors: Mark Daniel D'Agostini, Henry Choisun Chan, Shihong Yan, Zhong Zhou
  • Publication number: 20240375226
    Abstract: An apparatus for modular heat exchanger assembly is provided for horizontal transport and vertical orientation installation can include a frame that can be configured to retain a heat exchanger for transport and installation. The frame can facilitate transportation of the heat exchanger while the heat exchanger is in its horizontal orientation and can also facilitate lifting of the frame to orient the heat exchanger in its vertical orientation for installation and use.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 26, 2024
    Publication date: November 14, 2024
    Applicant: Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.
    Inventors: Christopher R. Butler, Paul I. Debrah, Prasad M. Samarajiva, Heather Lynn Schenk, Kevin E. Tiemann, Damian Luke Vujcich
  • Publication number: 20240375037
    Abstract: An apparatus and process for oxygen production can be configured to utilize flash vapor losses, recovery of regeneration heat and/or utilize a compressor to provide better heat integration and/or less wasteful processing for the recovery of oxygen that can be obtained from electrolysis (e.g., operation of one or more electrolyzers). Some embodiments may utilize all three of these features while other embodiments may use only one of these features or a combination of two of these features.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 9, 2023
    Publication date: November 14, 2024
    Applicant: Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.
    Inventors: JAY A. THAKKAR, ALAN D. BERGER, SIMON GIBSON
  • Publication number: 20240375950
    Abstract: A method for pyrolysing a methane-rich stream to produce hydrogen and a solid carbon intermediate. The solid carbon intermediate may then be transported to a second location to be gasified to produce hydrogen and carbon dioxide, the latter of which may be sequestered at the second location. Because the solid carbon intermediate may be transported more easily than carbon dioxide, this allows the decoupling of hydrogen production from carbon dioxide sequestration.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 1, 2024
    Publication date: November 14, 2024
    Applicant: Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.
    Inventors: Maulik R. Shelat, Kamlesh Ghodasara, Atish Shanmukhkumar Kataria, Matthew A. Jouny, Fabrice Amy
  • Publication number: 20240375958
    Abstract: Recovering xenon and/or krypton from a feed gas can include utilization of a purge stream from a separation column positioned and configured to output at least one stream of fluid that is substantially nitrogen and at least one stream of fluid that is substantially oxygen. The purge stream can be split so that a first portion of the purge stream is fed as a liquid adjacent to a top of a purge treatment column and a second portion of the purge stream can be fed to a heat exchanger for superheating the second portion to feed a superheated vapor at or adjacent to a bottom of the purge treatment column. The purge treatment column can output a liquid stream that has a relatively high concentration of Xe and/or Kr therein as a feed stream for an Xe and/or Kr recovery system.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 12, 2023
    Publication date: November 14, 2024
    Applicant: Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.
    Inventor: IAN ZONE
  • Patent number: 12140374
    Abstract: A hydrogen feed stream comprising one or more impurities selected from the group consisting of nitrogen, argon, methane, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, oxygen, and water, is purified using a cryogenic temperature swing adsorption (CTSA) process with high overall recovery of hydrogen. The waste gas from regenerating the CTSA may be used to improve the performance of upstream hydrogen processing steps.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 8, 2022
    Date of Patent: November 12, 2024
    Assignee: AIR PRODUCTS AND CHEMICALS, INC.
    Inventors: Shubhra Jyoti Bhadra, Jeffrey R. Hufton, Timothy C. Golden, Aaron Raymond Scott, Kamlesh Ghodasara, Maulik R. Shelat, Garret C. Lau
  • Publication number: 20240369293
    Abstract: An apparatus and process for liquid oxygen production can be configured to avoid use of a feed compressor and a recycle compressor. Embodiments can be configured for open loop operation so that a relatively low yield liquid oxygen recovery can be obtained from a feed output from an electrolyzer that is comprised mostly of oxygen (e.g. at least 80 volume percent oxygen, between 80 vol % and 100 vol % oxygen, etc.). The relatively low yield liquid oxygen recovery can be surprisingly provided to permit an advantageous recovery of oxygen to limit waste oxygen that may ultimately be vented while also minimizing equipment and power requirements for the liquid oxygen recovery.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 1, 2023
    Publication date: November 7, 2024
    Applicant: Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.
    Inventors: ALAN D. BERGER, QIAO JOSH ZHAO, DONN MICHAEL HERRON
  • Publication number: 20240359965
    Abstract: An apparatus and process for preventive maintenance for nozzle elements of a fuel dispenser or recharging station can include a nozzle preventive maintenance apparatus (e.g. fuel dispenser nozzle preventive maintenance apparatus or vehicle recharging nozzle preventive maintenance apparatus). The nozzle preventive maintenance apparatus can be configured to communicate with a sensor element of a nozzle to evaluate the operational status of that sensor element. In the event the testing determines that the sensor element is malfunctioning or broken, the apparatus can respond by scheduling or ordering maintenance to repair the component so the failure can be identified quickly and resolved to try and avoid the chance that a user may attempt to utilize a nozzle with a non-functioning element and have a negative experience in use of a dispenser (e.g. fuel dispenser or electricity dispenser that can be considered a recharging station).
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 26, 2023
    Publication date: October 31, 2024
    Applicant: Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.
    Inventors: JOSEPH P. COHEN, JILLIAN N. WILMS
  • Patent number: 12129165
    Abstract: An apparatus and process for preventive maintenance for nozzle elements of a fuel dispenser or recharging station can include a nozzle preventive maintenance apparatus (e.g. fuel dispenser nozzle preventive maintenance apparatus or vehicle recharging nozzle preventive maintenance apparatus). The nozzle preventive maintenance apparatus can be configured to communicate with a sensor element of a nozzle to evaluate the operational status of that sensor element. In the event the testing determines that the sensor element is malfunctioning or broken, the apparatus can respond by scheduling or ordering maintenance to repair the component so the failure can be identified quickly and resolved to try and avoid the chance that a user may attempt to utilize a nozzle with a non-functioning element and have a negative experience in use of a dispenser (e.g. fuel dispenser or electricity dispenser that can be considered a recharging station).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 26, 2023
    Date of Patent: October 29, 2024
    Assignee: Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.
    Inventors: Joseph P. Cohen, Jillian N. Wilms
  • Publication number: 20240353066
    Abstract: An apparatus and process for dispensing a cryogenic fluid can include an apparatus and process configured for dispensing the cryogenic fluid into a fuel tank. Embodiments can be configured for dispensing of liquid hydrogen into fuel tanks of vehicles, for example. Embodiments can be provided so no pump usage is necessary for filing the fuel tank or substantially filling the fuel tank (e.g., filling the fuel tank to a level of 90% filled or a level of 95% filled, etc.) during the dispensing. This can permit embodiments to avoid cryogenic boil off and fugitive emission losses as well as reducing power consumption, reducing maintenance costs, and permitting dispensing start-up to occur more quickly.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 20, 2023
    Publication date: October 24, 2024
    Applicant: Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.
    Inventors: ANUP VASANT SANE, JOSEPH P. COHEN, ROBERT KEVIN WAGNER, STEVEN W. HOFFMAN, PRASAD PRABHAKAR JOSHI, DAVID JONATHAN CHALK, ARIE VAN DEN AKKER
  • Patent number: 12105502
    Abstract: There is provided a method of controlling an industrial gas plant complex comprising a plurality of industrial gas plants powered by one or more renewable power sources, the method being executed by at least one hardware processor, the method comprising receiving time-dependent predicted power data for a pre-determined future time period from the one or more renewable power sources; receiving time-dependent predicted operational characteristic data for each industrial gas plant; utilizing the predicted power data and predicted characteristic data in an optimization model to generate a set of state variables for the plurality of industrial gas plants; utilizing the generated state variables to generate a set of control set points for the plurality of industrial gas plants; and sending the control set points to a control system to control the industrial gas plant complex by adjusting one or more control set points of the industrial gas plants.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 31, 2023
    Date of Patent: October 1, 2024
    Assignee: Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.
    Inventors: Sanjay Mehta, Pratik Misra
  • Patent number: 12104850
    Abstract: A process for recovering at least one fluid (e.g. xenon gas and/or krypton gas, etc.) from a feed gas can include utilization of a compression system, primary heat exchanger unit, a pre-purification unit (PPU), and other units to separate and recover at least one desired fluid. In some embodiments, fluid flows output from a first heat exchanger or separation system of the plant can be split so that a portion of a stream is output for downstream processing to purify xenon (Xe) and/or krypton (Kr) product flow(s) while another portion of the stream is recycled to a compression system or the PPU to undergo further purification and heat exchange so that the product output for downstream processing has a higher concentration of Xe or Kr. Some embodiments can be configured to provide an improved recovery of Xe and/or Kr as well as an improvement in operational efficiency.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 6, 2021
    Date of Patent: October 1, 2024
    Assignee: Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.
    Inventors: Declan Patrick O'Connor, Garret C. Lau
  • Patent number: 12102961
    Abstract: A process for capturing carbon dioxide in which an exhaust stream containing carbon dioxide is cooled by a plurality of stages of indirect heat exchange to produce a cooled exhaust stream, compressed over a plurality of stages of compression, and separated to produce a CO2-enriched stream and a CO2-depleted stream. The CO2-enriched stream is dehydrated by contacting the CO2-enriched stream with a regenerated desiccant to produce a CO2 product stream and a spent desiccant. The CO2-depleted stream is heated by indirect heat exchange against the exhaust stream to produce a hot CO2-depleted stream, while a portion of the CO2-depleted stream is extracted from an interstage of the plurality of stages of indirect heat exchange to regenerate the spent desiccant. The hot CO2-depleted stream is expanded over a plurality of stages of expansion to drive the compression of the cooled exhaust, thereby producing an expanded CO2-depleted stream.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 25, 2020
    Date of Patent: October 1, 2024
    Assignee: Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.
    Inventors: Joseph DiPietro, Joseph Moate, Ugur Guner
  • Patent number: 12092093
    Abstract: An apparatus and process for cooling down a liquid hydrogen or other cryogenic fluid pump can be configured to allow for a quick startup that also helps minimize hydrogen losses. Some embodiments can utilize a blow-by circuit configured and arranged to support the cryogenic cooldown operation for the pump that can minimize hydrogen loss while allowing substantially improved pump startup times. Some embodiments can utilize at least one temperature sensor to monitor temperature and an adjustable control valve that can facilitate the flow of the fluid utilized to perform the cooldown of the pump.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 8, 2022
    Date of Patent: September 17, 2024
    Assignee: Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.
    Inventors: Steven W. Hoffman, David Jonathan Chalk, Joseph P. Cohen
  • Patent number: 12091320
    Abstract: A process for producing syngas that uses the syngas product from a partial oxidation reactor to provide all necessary heating duties, which eliminates the need for a fired heater. Soot is removed from the syngas using a dry filter to avoid a wet scrubber quenching the syngas stream and wasting the high-quality heat. Without the flue gas stream leaving a fired heater, all of the carbon dioxide produced by the reforming process is concentrated in the high-pressure syngas stream, allowing essentially complete carbon dioxide capture.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 21, 2023
    Date of Patent: September 17, 2024
    Assignee: Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.
    Inventors: Xiang-Dong Peng, Henry Choisun Chan, Kelly Danielle Aguilar, Shihong Yan, Qiong Zhou, Shylaja Gowda
  • Patent number: 12091319
    Abstract: A process for producing syngas that uses the syngas product from an oxygen-fired reformer to provide all necessary heating duties, which eliminates the need for a fired heater. Without the flue gas stream leaving a fired heater, all of the carbon dioxide produced by the reforming process is concentrated in the high-pressure syngas stream, allowing essentially complete carbon dioxide capture.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 21, 2023
    Date of Patent: September 17, 2024
    Assignee: Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.
    Inventors: Xiang-Dong Peng, Yu Zhang, Tori Dawn Courtney
  • Patent number: 12095340
    Abstract: A hydrogen expander magnetic generator apparatus can include a magnetic generator to recover energy. Embodiments can utilize a permanent magnetic motor (PM) and energy conversion system (ECS) for converting energy from a rotating shaft of a turboexpander. Some embodiments can position magnets on the shaft such that the magnets are protected from exposure to hydrogen to avoid damage to the magnets. Some embodiments can include retrofitting of a pre-existing expander to remove an oil brake and replace it with an embodiment of the PM and ECS.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 9, 2021
    Date of Patent: September 17, 2024
    Assignee: Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.
    Inventors: Genglin Tang, Candice Daibes Silvestre, Ethan D. Eiswerth, Robert E. Benton, Jr.